Blonde Crazy

Bert Harris (James Cagney) is a bellhop at a small town hotel. When a looker (Joan Blondell as Anne Roberts) arrives, he arranges for her employment in the housekeeping department.

Bert is a schemer who is loose with the truth and has a love of the ladies. He says, "The world owes me a living." Despite the fact Bert is "not a collar ad", Anne is intrigued by his persona. But she is a good girl, immune to his advances. Still, they become partners and use a small-time frame to finance their move to a larger city.

Being a fan of films about grifting, I really enjoy this film, which includes multiple examples of the con. The stakes get higher as the story continues. One con is reminiscent of "The Sting".

It is also fun to watch pre-Code films, with their peculiar characteristics and their vernacular. Bert, though a criminal, displays an odd code of ethics that is central to the story, though unacceptable by Hays' standards.

Cagney displays his usual bluster and bravado. Blondell is charming. Watch for the very young Ray Milland.

Bellhop James Cagney and hotel maid Joan Blondell have a lot of ambitions during Depression Era America. They've seen the American dream go belly up on Wall Street, seen lots of people lose everything they have to crooks and chiselers and have decided if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. And Cagney has entitled what he considers the Depression to be, the age of chiselry.

These two are obviously so suited for each other. But for what each considers practical reasons they hook up with other people. Cagney hero worships noted confidence man Louis Calhern and Blondell takes a shine to polished and dapper Ray Milland, a wall street broker. Each becomes quite disillusioned.

This is a good piece of historic Americana, depression era. People like Cagney and Blondell lost a lot of ideals in that period and it rings true even today. Later on Preston Sturges would take some of the same themes in Blonde Crazy and use them in a more comedic way. But this film is still pretty good on its own merits.

"Blonde Crazy" was one of the first films James Cagney made after becoming a big star. The plot is pretty straightforward but Cagney and Joan Blondell push this film well above being average with their on-screen chemistry. They play a couple of hustlers who circulate amongst the more wealthy clientèle in various hotels. At one stage, both the leads are on the receiving end of a notorious card shark who steals their ill gotten gains. The way Cagney and Blondell exact their revenge is brilliant! Things get a bit more complicated between the two leads in the latter half of the film. Very entertaining.

Pre-Coder starring James Cagney as a hotel bellboy with a knack for conning people who falls for Joan Blondell and gets more than his fair share of trouble for it. Mixed bag but enjoyable enough. Jimmy's the main reason to recommend this one. He's delightfully cocky and energizes every scene. The way he moves and talks throughout the picture is fascinating to watch. He was still relatively new to movies but you would never know it by how confident his performance is here. Starts out like a comedy but turns more serious when Louis Calhern and Ray Milland enter the picture. It's not quite as enjoyable from that point on.

The idea for 'Blonde Crazy' sounded very interesting and gave the impression that it would be a very entertaining film if done right. Have for a while liked both James Cagney and Joan Blondell, both had a fair share of great performances under their belt, and they showed that when together that they sparkled so well. Roy Del Ruth was a competent director who did make some enjoyable films, saw 'Employees Entrance' recently and loved it and 'On Moonlight Bay' is still delightful.

Seeing Ray Milland in such an early role before he hit his peak was an interest point too. On the most part, 'Blonde Crazy' was a hugely enjoyable film with terrific performances from the two stars. For me this is one of Del Ruth's better films despite not being perfect, and really admired how daring a lot of it was. For me, the first half is better than the second (which is still very watchable). Did prefer the more witty, faster paced and risque quality of the first half, which didn't take itself seriously like some of the second half did.

'Blonde Crazy' is well made visually, especially the clever and atmospheric photography that still looks pretty pristine now. It is directed at a fast and furious pace by Del Ruth, without feeling muddled or too hasty. Absolutely loved the sass of the script, full of razor sharp wit and a surprising daring quality that one doesn't expect to this extent even at that time (where you could get away with much more before the Code was enforced around the mid-30s).

Furthermore, the story is on the silly side but never feels dull or padded, nor does it feel convoluted, and enlivened by the sizzling chemistry between Cagney and Blondell. The bathtub scene makes the jaw drop. Cagney and Blondell both give scorching performances, especially Blondell though Cagney's comic timing really shines in the first half, and Louis Calhern gives distinguished support. Most of the rest of the cast do very well though their characters don't have as much meat.

On the other hand, 'Blonde Crazy', despite being suspenseful and entertaining still, takes itself a little too seriously in the second half and doesn't have the same amount of the sass, wit and risque-ness of the first half. A very young Milland comes over as stiff and inexperienced-looking.

Also found the ending a bit too abrupt and like the film was trying to wrap things up too hastily and neatly.

Concluding, hugely enjoyable. 8/10